More.
A loud buzzer sounded as Dicta Striker ran past the finish line, but she didn't stop. She kept running forward, her ears ringing from all the wind that was being forced into her ears. The scoreboard that hung just over the finish line eventually lit up, showing a time of 2.07.2.
More.
She ran across the entire track one more time. She was tethering on the edge of exhaustion at this point, having run around the track five times before this lap. Her trainer watched from the sidelines, nervously biting her nails as she watched Dicta speed forward.
Soon, she came into the final straight once more, and the urge to lunge forward appeared once more. But she didn't listen to it; she didn't surrender to those instincts. This practice was one of patience, and this was not yet the time.
She passed the finish line. The buzzer sounded once more, and a new time appeared on the scoreboard. 2.07.0, it read. Barely faster than her previous lap—likely nothing more than a margin of error.
She kept running.
MORE.
By this point, her legs were begging her to stop. They felt like they were burning. But she kept running still, silently consoling her with the fact that this lap would likely be her last one.
Her trainer wasn't the only one watching. An umamusume watched alongside her, her expressions both awed and worried. After all, she'd watched Dicta Striker's run from the very start, and so she could imagine just how exhausted Dicta must be feeling. Her shaking hands clasped together as she quietly prayed.
Dicta Striker was rasping as she entered the final corner, and once more, she felt that burning urge to just run. Run with what she had left until she inevitably ran out of gas.
This time, she indulged the urge.
Her cleats slammed into the ground, and she felt a renewed surge of strength rise within her as her eyes glowed an electric blue. Sparks of blue exploded from behind her, looking almost like an array of fireworks. And grinning with teeth, Dicta Striker roared as she lunged forward with such speed that she turned into a blur.
Domain Awakening—
{Railgun}!
One moment, the world was still.
Then the next, an earth-shattering boom echoed across the track as Dicta launched forward. The carefully curated Turf beneath her feet was literally blown apart from the sheer force she unleashed.
The final straight was cleared in record time, and the buzzer cried out one more time as she ran past the finish line.
The moment she did, Dicta Striker gasped as she abruptly slowed down. And once she'd slowed to a stop, she immediately dropped onto the ground, her breaths labored as she turned her head towards the scoreboard, waiting for it to flash with the recorded time for this final lap.
It took a few seconds, but eventually it did.
"2.05.3…" She read out, and then a hoarse laugh escaped her lips as she let her head collapse onto the Turf. "Fuck." She whispered, her smile pained as she slammed her fist into the dirt. "Not quite there yet."
"Language." A familiar voice called out, and Dicta grinned as she turned and saw Mejiro Ardan walking towards her. Ardan was smiling wryly as she saw the way she was laid across the ground, though she could see the way her hands were subtly shaking as she held them together.
Dicta's smile softened. "Yeah, yeah." She said, sighing deeply as she closed her eyes. "Sorry for worrying you, by the way." She then said, frowning slightly. "Just felt like I needed to run today."
Ardan nodded slowly. "Because of the [Japan Cup], I presume?"
Dicta shrugged. "What else?"
The [Japan Cup]. To say that was currently the most anticipated race of this year would be an understatement; last year's [Japan Cup] had been completely insane, and it was looking like this year was going to be even crazier.
Seven foreign representatives, seven Japanese representatives—it was literally a 7 vs 7 between Japanese umamusume and the rest of the world.
And somehow, Dicta Striker was included in that list.
Ardan smiled kindly as she saw the doubt that'd flashed in Dicta's eyes. "You deserve to be there." She told her as she sat down next to her. "It was Director Akikawa that included you, remember?"
"I know. I'm just-, processing. That's all." She took a slow breath as she ran a hand through her hair. Though she couldn't help but grin slightly as she turned towards Ardan. "Also, should a lady really be sittin' on the track like this? Your grandma's not gonna get pissed, is she?"
Ardan giggled. "As if that's something I have ever cared for. And besides," she winked. "The Matriarch isn't here, is she?"
That was true, considering they were in the Hanshin Racecourse right now. The usually bustling racecourse was empty this time; not just because there weren't any races being held here today, but also because Ardan had bought out the entire racecourse for today, all because Dicta offhandedly mentioned that she wanted to try and see if she could surpass the record she set in the [Takarazuka Kinen].
And because she was Mejiro Ardan, that little whim suddenly turned into reality. And now Dicta was here, still having some trouble to realize that Ardan had probably blown through a small fortune to reserve this entire racecourse for an entire day.
Dicta laughed. "That's true!" She said, though she silently apologized to the Mejiro Matriarch for being a bad influence on one of her granddaughters.
Then again, a world where Ardan always remained as a dainty flower of the Mejiro was probably a pretty shitty world, so she was also happy that she wasn't living in a world like that.
A small silence settled between them after that. It wasn't an uncomfortable one. They simply sat there on the Turf, silently enjoying the pleasant winds of Autumn.
Dicta glanced at her for a moment, before she turned away. Truth was, she did have something she wanted to ask Ardan about, but she knew it wouldn't be appropriate. Ardan didn't need to be reminded of what happened just a couple weeks back.
Though she had a feeling Ardan didn't really care. After all, unlike Sakura Chiyono O or Yaeno Muteki who'd been utterly crushed after the [Autumn Tenno Sho], Ardan had calmly accepted her loss. Hell, when Dicta met her just a day after, Ardan didn't look bothered in the slightest.
"Thinking of me, are you?" Ardan suddenly asked, smiling with amusement. "Have you been captivated by my looks, perhaps?"
Dicta clicked her tongue as she looked away. "As if. I ain't some highschool boy."
Ardan giggled, and Dicta couldn't help but smile as well.
…
She didn't really know what this really was.
It was-, she didn't have the vocabulary to even try and pin down whatever this was. They were undoubtedly rivals when on the track, and close friends outside of it. Not a surprise, considering they'd been training together for over two years—be impossible not to at least be friends with someone after hanging out with them for that long.
But sometimes she'd stay at the Mejiro Household, and almost always she would end up sleeping together with Ardan in her room. Her own dorm room was pretty sparse, but what little trinkets she had were all the gifts Ardan had bought her from the past. Breakfast, lunch, dinner—they were almost always together during those.
She wasn't stupid. She knew this went a little farther than the usual definition of 'friends'. She just wasn't sure what that actually was.
Did she like Ardan? She didn't know. She didn't have the urge to cuddle or kiss or whatever it was Star and Oguri liked doing whenever they were alone. She didn't want to get down on her knees and give Ardan a flower or something.
She just wanted to be here with her. To exist in a world where they were together.
…yeah. That sounded right.
"Are you going to continue laying there?" Ardan then asked, smiling softly.
"Give me a minute." Dicta said, returning Ardan's smile with her own. "My legs are killin' me."
Ardan raised an eyebrow. "And whose fault is that, hmm?"
She rolled her eyes. "Fuck off, lady. Ain't my fault I was born an umamusume, 'kay?"
"Language." Ardan immediately said, though her eyes were twinkling with amusement as she spoke.
Dicta chuckled.
.
.
.
Watching from afar, Dicta's trainer watched those two with a wry smile, before she silently sighed as she idly twirled one of her bangs.
She didn't sign up to play as a third wheel today, damn it!